Alfred s



A. S MUNGER;

Breech-Loading Fire-Arm.

Patentfed Mar. 12. 1867 alias ititeb vtat-tea gaunt @ffiss.

ALFRED S. MUN GER, 0F CHICOPEE FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS.

Letters Patent No. 62,873, dated March 12, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN REEBOK-LOADINGFIRE-ARMS.

' (Itlgt fitlgetultrfcmt it in meridian -hated aim mating tnrtnt the same TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, ALFRED SQ MUNGER, of C'hicopee Falls, in thecounty of Hampden, and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Fire-Arms; an-d I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the same, sufiici ent to enable one skilled in the art to which the invention appertains to make use of it, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification. i I

My in' vention relates to that class of breech-loading fire-arms in which the hammer'constitntes the breech piece or abutment, which sustains the force of the recoil;- and the invention consists in so constructing and applying the detaining catch of the hammer that the pivot ofithe said catch will be relieved by means of arigid support, which is interposed between the back of the hammer and the stationary part of theframe, independently of the pivot, as will be hereinafterdescribedi In the accompanying drawings, a ham'mer and its accessories, so constructed, are shown in connection with the handle or stock of a pistol- Figure 1 being a plan or top view of the same; and

Figure 2 a-central vertical section,-taken in the plane of the lines at, fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts. i

' In the drawings, Arepresentsthe handle or stock of a pistol, in which, at the proper point for exploding the eartridg'ethatis placed in the barrel of the pistol, the hammer B is hung in the usual manner, which hammer is constructed as will be presently explained; C, the trigger, hung in handle A and engaging with hammer B, as in ordinary'pistols or other fire-arms. The lock portion a of the hammer B is slotted, and in it is hung, upoh a pivot b, a thumb-piece or lever, G, extending toward the end a of theslot d, in the handle A of the pistol, through and in which the hammer plays as it is cocked" or set, and thrown forward to explode the charge in the barrel of the fire-arm, by pulling upon the trigger C in the proper direction therefor, against which end 0 of the said slot the extension-arm f of said thumb-piece comes to a bearing, by its eud or foot y, and is there held by the U-shaped spring h, interposed between the under side of the said arm f and the hammer, as

plainly shown infig. 2, in section. I

By this construction it is obvious that when 'the pistol is discharged the recoil received by the hammer is sustained by therigid bearing 9 interposed automatically between the back of the hammer and the part-c of the stationary frame. The pivot b is thus-entirely relieved from the severe shock, and no frail, delicate, or yielding part is subject-ed thereto. v

I amaware that a hammer has before been employed to sustain the force of the recoil, and released in the aotof cocking, but having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- I V The lever fcatch G, formed with a foot, g, which in the act of firing is interposed between the back of the hammer and the part c of the frame, to relieve the pivot b of pressure, and in the act of cooking. is retracted to release the hauimer,'as and for the purposes described.

' ALFRED S. MUNGER.

Witnesses:

Srnvssrnu BARBOUR, JonuL. Hunesnroan- 

